It's Mother's Day exactly one week from today - are you ready?

The first recognized Mother's Day celebration in the United States occurred May 10, 1908, in Grafton, W. Va.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation setting the second Sunday in May as an official national day to honor mothers.

The British predate us by 300 years when it comes to celebrating moms. Since the 1600s, there has been an annual "Mothering Sunday," usually held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, in late March or early April.

But the ancient Greeks have everyone beat. They held a "Mother's Day" celebration thousands of years ago. But it wasn't to honor everyday moms - it was meant for Rhea, the mother of all Greek gods.

Finding gift ideas online for mom is easy. You can start by visiting the Web sites of any retail store in town. For example, the "big box" stores all have online operations that allow you to find and order gifts for mom 24/7.

Many local stores, shops, spas and services have Web sites, too - simply think of a business and check to see if they have an online presence. Chances are they do. And while many might not offer online shopping and ordering, they probably have product and service information that can be helpful for visiting the business in person.

There are several other online options you can pursue that may help you plan for Mother's Day:

Gift Ideas

3 Gift Idea Search

presentpicker.com/ppp/quick/quick.html

Select various options and generate a list of potential gift ideas.

3 Personalization Mall

www.personalizationmall.com/Store.aspx?storeID=19&hid=29

Lots of gift ideas in numerous categories.

3 Gifts.com

www.gifts.com/ideas/mothers-day

Gift ideas based on the type of mom you have and your relationship to her.

Crafts and Projects

3 Mother's Day Crafts

www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/mothersday/

Several craft projects kids can make for mom. From pop-up cards to tissue paper flowers, this site has lots of options for neat gifts to give your mother.

3 For Mom

www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/mother/mom.htm

Aimed at kids, lots of "promise cards," certificates, coloring activities and games for mom.

3 Mother's Day

www.alphabet-soup.net/mot/mother.html

Several ideas for honoring mom on her day.

Send E-cards

3 Blue Mountain

www.bluemountain.com/category.pd?path=35215

3 123 Greetings

www.123greetings.com/events/mothers_day/

3 Greet2k

www.greet2k.com/events/mothers_day/index.shtml

3 Card Fountain

www.cardfountain.com/ecards-index/mothers-day-ecards/

3 Hallmark

www.hallmark.com

3 American Greetings

www.americangreetings.com

Find Poetry

3 Free Mother's Day Poems

www.poemsforfree.com/mothpo.html

A nice collection of poems about mom, written by Nicholas Gordon, made available for free for personal or noncommercial purposes.

3 Mothers Net

www.mothers.net/motherspoems.htm

Numerous poems and lyrics focusing on mom.

3 Mother's Day Page

freespace.virgin.net/derek.berger/mothers-day.html

Contains an enormous variety of poems and quotes dedicated to mothers.

(Keith Darnay is the web- master and designer for bismarcktribune.com. His Web site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at www.darnay.com/iec.)